Sam Ruthe & Sam Tanner Set For 800m Showdown At Potts Classic

The 2026 Summer Circuit kicks off this weekend, and it all begins with the Andrew Spence Pharmacies Potts Classic in conjunction with the inaugural New Zealand Short Track Championships. The Potts Classic has some of New Zealand’s top athletes lining up at Hastings’ Mitre10 Sports Park on the 17th of January.

This is the first stop on the five-meet Summer Circuit that will light up the country from north to south.

The 2026 edition of the Potts Classic brings national championship flavour with the staging of the inaugural New Zealand Short Track Championships. For the first time, Kiwi athletes will compete for short track national titles over 60m and 60m hurdles on the track, while long jump, high jump, shot put, and triple jump will be contested in the field. The big question is who will write their names into the history books as the inaugural short track champions?

The traditional Potts Classic meeting lineup will be just as scintillating as the national title events, with the Alan and Sylvia Potts Memorial 800m’s the marquee events of the meeting.

The headline clash comes in the men’s 800 metres, where Sam Tanner and teen prodigy Sam Ruthe will go head-to-head in what promises to be a two-lap thriller. Tanner has requested a lightning-fast first lap of 50.5s, with plans to rewrite his PB on his mind. With his best currently sitting at 1:46.14s, Tanner is looking to go well under that mark and into 1:45 territory. On the horizon sits James Preston’s national record of 1:44.04, a mark that will be floating in the back of Tanner’s mind over the two-lap race.

It won’t be a procession around the Hawkes Bay track for Tanner as his training partner, Sam Ruthe, lines up alongside him. Ruthe returns to the Mitre10 Sports Park, where last month he ran a historic 800m, 1500m double at the secondary schools championships. Ruthe’s run of record-breaking over the previous year has seen him fly to international stardom, clocking off historic records from 800m to 5000m. Ruthe’s 800m performance at last month’s championships saw his 1:46.81 time take almost four seconds off the previous championship record. One thing is for certain: there will be fireworks over the two laps.

In the women’s sprints, all eyes will be on Zoe Hobbs in the 60 metres as she chases the World Indoor qualifying mark of 7.20 ahead of the March Championships. Hobbs owns a personal best of 7.06 seconds, a New Zealand record she set at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She will be joined by rising stars Kendra Scally-Tui, the national schools champion over 100 and 200 metres, as well as Samantha Lathwood, Brooke Summerfield and Georgia Gibbons.

The para events bring plenty of star power too. World champion Lisa Adams returns in the women’s shot put, while 2025 World Para Athletics representative, Paddy Walsh, will take on the 60 metres and her specialty, the long jump.

The men’s sprints will be one not to miss with Tiaan Whelpton eyeing the inaugural NZ Short Track 60m title. His best of 6.50 set in Canberra last year sees him well clear of the field of Shay Veitch, Zach Saunders, and Rylan Noome who will all be in the medal hunt.

In the men’s long jump, Shay Veitch headlines the field after soaring past eight metres with a personal best of 8.04 in Belgium last season, a mark that ranks him second all-time in New Zealand. The high jump promises a tight battle between Rafe Couillault and Tia Wynyard, who both own personal bests of 2.10 metres, and Ben Walker, who sits just behind at 2.09.

The shot put will feature 2025 World Championships debutant and last year’s Potts winner, Nick Palmer, who holds a personal best of 20.18 metres. Up against Palmer is Blessing Sefo, a talent on the rise. Sefo competed at the 2024 World Under-20 Championships.

The women’s 400 metres is shaping up as another highlight, with Madeleine Waddell, the New Zealand under-20 record holder at 52.62, lining up against World University Games representatives Isabel Neal and Jordyn Blake.

Middle-distance fans will have plenty to cheer for in the women’s 800 metres. Sarah Hellyer, fresh off setting a New Zealand under-19 record over 1000 metres, will join her twin Lisa in a stacked field that includes Rosa Twyford, who recently won the elite 800 metres at the Night of 5s, and Holly Manning, who will be racing on home turf.

There’s thrilling relay action on the cards as well, as the New Zealand team of Tiaan Whelpton, Hayato Yoneto, Shay Veitch, and Lex Revell-Lewis set to fly in the 4x100m relay. The team are fresh off an almost record-breaking run in Australia, where they clocked 39.09s, only 0.10s off of the NZ Record of 38.99. They’ll be looking to go one better this weekend. The current record is held by Roberts, Falealili, Dolphin, and Donaldson from 2005.

In the women’s high jump, Imogen Skelton, who cleared 1.87 metres last season, will face 2024 World Junior representative Naomi Waite, who holds a best of 1.80.

It’ll be a Potts Classic to remember, with high-profile matchups from start to end of the meet. Head along to the Mitre10 Sports Park in Hastings on the 17th of January. Spectator tickets are free, and you can grab yours at athleticsevents.co.nz!

Pre-program starts from 1:00 PM, with the main program kicking off at 4:00 PM.

If you can’t make it trackside, tune in live from 4:00 PM on TVNZ+ and watch the first meet of the 2026 Summer Circuit kick off the season.

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